Lynda Resnick

Resnick was born Lynda Rae Harris to a Jewish family in Baltimore, Maryland^[3][4] and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her father, Jack H. Harris, worked as a film distributor during the 1950s; he is known for producing The Blob, which later became a cult favorite.^[3] Her mother, Muriel (née Goodman), was an interior designer.^[5] Because of her father's occupation, Resnick, at the age of four, had a recurring role on The Horn & Hardart Children's Hour broadcast from WCAU-TV in Philadelphia.^[6] The family moved to Southern California when she was 15.^[7] After briefly attending Santa Monica College, Resnick took a job at the in-house ad agency for Sunset House catalog before founding an advertising agency, in 1961 at the age of 19.^[8][6]

Resnick was involved in the antiwar movement during the Vietnam War era. In 1969, Resnick was dating Anthony J. Russo, an engineer at the Rand Corp.^[9] She became close to Russo’s friend, Daniel Ellsberg, and helped copy the Pentagon Papers using the Xerox machine in her ad agency.^[10] This document was later made public by The New York Times in 1971.^[11] The documents detailed aspects of the war hidden from the public and damaged the credibility of the presidents involved.^[12] Resnick was designated an unindicted co-conspirator, and says that during that time she was regularly followed by the FBI, briefly jailed and physically threatened.^[13] According to Resnick, this led to post traumatic stress disorder.^[12] Legal actions were eventually dropped. Ellsberg and Resnick remained close throughout their lives, and Resnick spoke at Ellsberg’s memorial service in 2023.^[14]

Resnick started an advertising agency in 1961, which eventually grew to about a dozen employees. She met Stewart Resnick, whom she eventually married, through this business.^[15] In 1979, the Resnicks purchased Teleflora, where Resnick directed marketing policy and served as president.^[15] She won a Gold Effie Award for a campaign that paired fresh flowers with a collectible keepsake container, a format that later became common in the floral delivery industry.^[16]

Resnick also directed marketing for The Wonderful Company, which increased its market share of pistachios following the ‘Get Crackin’’ marketing campaign.^[17][18][19] In 2010, Resnick wrote a book on her approach to marketing called Rubies in the Orchard.^[20]

Lynda Resnick, along with her husband Stewart, have been listed among the nation’s top philanthropists according to Forbes and the Chronicle of Philanthropy.^[21][22] The Resnicks have given $2.5 billion to causes primarily focused on communities where their employees live and work, such as California’s Central Valley, as well as efforts to combat global climate change.^[23] The New York Times recognized Lynda Resnick as “the driving force behind the couple’s charitable efforts.”^[24] Their community investments include funding for education, healthcare, affordable housing and infrastructure.^[25][24]

The Resnicks founded and continue to support Wonderful College Prep Academy, two public charter schools in Lost Hills and Delano, California. These schools serve 2,400 TK-12 students.^[26][27] Roughly 70% of students go on to college, many the first in their families to do so.^[22]

The Resnicks' Wonderful Company also sponsors dual enrollment programs at Ag Prep. This offers students at seven high schools in the Central Valley on-the-job training for careers in areas including agriculture, education and healthcare.^[28][29]

The Resnicks support research related to global climate change. The Resnicks $750 million 2019 pledge to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) was at the time the largest ever for research into environmental sustainability and the second-largest gift to a U.S. academic institution.^[30] They have given $100 million to other universities as well.^[31]

They directed $10 million to relief efforts amid the 2025 Los Angeles fires.^[32] At the University of California, Los Angeles, the Resnicks and their foundation support a Food Law and Policy Center,^[33] and the Stewart and Lynda Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital.^[34] In February 2026, Resnick and her husband donated $100 million to UCLA Health to fund the expansion of the neuropsychiatric hospital and mental health campus.^[35] Other donations include $70 million to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art ^[36] and a $30 million gift to the Hammer Museum^[37] to build a new cultural center.^[38]

In California’s wine country, the Resnicks supported the construction of the JUSTIN and J. LOHR Center for Wine and Viticulture at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. In 2024, the university announced that the Resnicks are funding a new center on campus to support first-generation college students.^[39][40]

In Fiji, the Resnick owned FIJI Water, through its foundation, funds local infrastructure, community health centers, classrooms, teacher housing, bus shelters, student walking paths and disaster recovery efforts.^{[41][42][43][44]}

As an Aspen Institute trustee, Resnick and her company sponsor the annual Aspen Action Forum, a global convening of leaders from business, government and non-profits.^[45] They also funded the Center for Herbert Bayer Studies on the institute’s campus, creating the first permanent museum for the Bauhaus artist.^[46]

Fortune also cited the Resnick-led philanthropy in naming the company to its list of the “100 Best Places to Work” in 2024 and 2025.^[47]

Lynda Resnick is a trustee at the Aspen Institute,^[48] the Milken Family Foundation, and the Los Angeles Museum of Modern Art, and a trustee emeritus at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.^[49]

Resnick has been married twice. Her first marriage to publisher Hershel Sinay ended in divorce in 1969. In 1972, Resnick married Stewart Resnick, who is also her business partner. She has two children and three stepchildren.^[50]